Beautiful Goodbye
by xDeanax
Summary: KxL oneshot. [I want to give you diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, pearls...all that and more, Lacus, if I could.] [No, Kira...I do not need all that. Only...only love me.]


**Beautiful Goodbye**

XXX

**Post-talk:**

_Phew! I was taking a breather from TBAHG for a while and then – WHAM! – I got inspired to write one-shots. Do not worry. TBAHG shall be updated soon enough. But this is just for a side-project to satisfy my weird writing urges. Theremight also beanother Athrun x Cagalli one-shot later on. It's the prequel for this so I can satisfy both fans of the pairings._

_This is dedicated to every Kira x Lacus fans out there; I hope you will enjoy my first contribution to this awesome couple. _

XXX

It was Saturday, July the 25th...her wedding day. She was smiling, her eyes sparkling as she put on the finishing touches of her pristine white wedding gown. Her bridesmaids all chattered and giggled and sung praises over her soon-to-be-husband Athrun Zala before they left. _You're so lucky, Lacus!_ They had gushed to her. _He is __Japan__'s No. 1 Bachelor and you already had your name tagged on him since you were born!_

Outwardly, she had smiled. She had looked happy. She had acted joyful.

But inside she wasn't.

21-year-old Lacus Clyne gave herself a mental shake. _Of course_ she was happy. It was just a small case of the wedding jitters. That was all. She was going to marry one of the world's handsomest, richest and most sought-after men in the world. What reason would she have to NOT want this marriage?

But her reason had a face, had a name. It had dark brown hair and striking mauve eyes. And its name was Kira Yamato.

_Kira Yamato..._

It was useless and utterly wrong to think of another man at a time like this. For heaven's sake, she was about to get married! She should be thinking of her dashing groom! But Lacus's heart would not be swayed. It wanted no other man in its place. It wanted no other touch or smile or caress. It wanted only Kira Yamato.

"Lacus, it's time!" Miriallia Haww, one of her bridesmaids, called out to her and broke into her restless thoughts. Lacus smiled and nodded, thinking she must be one great actress if she had succeeded to make everyone think she was hopelessly in love with Athrun Zala as all the other 90 of the female population do.

But, deep down inside, Lacus knew she had not fooled Athrun. He was too clever, too sharp, not to notice. But Athrun could not deceive her either. No matter how nicely or how kindly he had treated her, he was not in love with her. While on a brief visit to his office, Lacus had once caught him gazing longingly at his secretary, a pretty brown-eyed blond. It was barely noticeable. But Lacus knew.

She knew because it was the same with her too...

"Come on, Lacus! Everyone is waiting for you!" Miriallia urged from outside the doorway.

She pulled down her veil and her hands clutched onto the banquet of blood red roses. Taking a deep breath, she then walked through the large entrance and down the aisle.

"Sheisso beautiful!"

"She looks like an angel!"

"Ah, they make such a wonderful couple!"

She only dimly heard them all gush and admire her, because her mind had journeyed back into the past...to her first meeting with the man who had changed her life forever...

XXX

It was during the summer. It was Lacus's last month of freedom, and so her father permitted her the chance to escape her gilded cage before he trapped her again in the silken bonds of her arranged marriage. Lacus had taken the opportunity to visit romantic Paris, where her friend Mir had once raved to her about the beauty and lights of the city.

She had been too busy attempting to read a map she had bought from a street vendor to pay any heed to an equally busy brunette coming her way. They had collided into each other, but it was she who fell to the ground.

_"I-I'm sorry. I was so busy looking at my map, that I wasn't aware-"_

Lacus's words trailed off when the man opposite her offered her his hand. He was tall and lanky, with pools of beautiful lavender eyes and rich brown locks. Her blue eyes widened. He was, quite possibly, the handsomest man she had ever laid eyes on. He smiled at her...an enchanting smile that touched something deep inside her heart.

_"Don't worry. It's partly my fault too. I was too wrapped up in this newspaper I was reading. By the way, my name is Kira...Kira Yamato."_

_"And my name is Lacus...Lacus Clyne."_

And from the moment her hand enfolded in his, they had fallen in love...

XXX

She stopped in front of the pastor and stood beside her groom. Athrun took her hands in his and gave her a strained smile.

She looked up and stared into Athrun's emerald green eyes.

Perhaps if she closed her eyes and imagined hard enough, she could pretend it was _his_ lavender eyes she was staring into, _his_ strong yet gentle hands that was clasped in hers.

_But I can't,_ she thought sadly. _Athrun deserves better than that..._

"You look beautiful. Especially with that yellow hairclip," Athrun, sensing her underlying anxiety, whispered into her ear to calm her down.

She resisted the urge to caress the hairclip on top of her pink locks, almost hidden underneath her veil. It was Kira's last gift to her. It would serve to remind her of the yesterdays she had spent in Kira's arms...of the last sunset she had shared with her beloved...

XXX

_"Oh, it's beautiful, Kira!"_

_"You like it? I bought it especially with you in mind."_

Kira Yamato placed the surprise gift into Lacus's palms. It was a yellow hairclip to match her pink hair. Her delicate fingers curled into it and she gave him a wide, grateful smile. _"Thank you, Kira. I will treasure it for always."_

She pinned the hairclip into her hair and twirled around. _"What do you think?"_

He sighed wistfully. _"You look beautiful, as always."_

Lacus blushed prettily. Kira always paid her compliments like that but she still could not stop the red spots from attacking her face.

_"Come and sit down. I got our picnic. Fancy some of my famous cheese sandwiches?"_ Kira inquired as he placed his picnic basket under the shade of a large Sakura tree. It was their favorite place in the park because they had the best view of the sunset there.

Within minutes they sat down together, eating sandwiches and talking about anything under the sun.

_"I used to dream of being in love,"_ she suddenly said.

Kira touched her long pink tresses, savoring its soft and silky texture. _"Do you still?"_

_"No, I don't have to. Not any more."_ She looked up at the wide blue sky above her, a bird soaring overhead. She closed her eyes slowly. _"I'll never have to dream again. Only wish."_

Neither of them spoke. They knew what she meant. She loved him. Just as he deeply as he loved her. But they were not meant to be. Fate had other future plans for Lacus Clyne, and Kira Yamato was not included in those plans. The injustice of it all angered Kira...but what could he do? How could he fight against fate, when Lacus herself was resigned to it?

And yet he could not hate Lacus for her decision. How could he? He loved her too much. Lacus was bound by honor and duty to marry Athrun Zala, and she would not break that obligation because she felt she owed her mother. Mrs. Clyne had died giving birth to her. But before she breathed her last, her dying wish had been for her only daughter to marry into her close friend's family, the Zala family, and Lacus's father fully intended to accomplish his wife's dearest wish.

So since her mother's death, Lacus had been raised to prepare herself. She had been sent to the finest all-girls school to become a lady. She dressed well, her manners and poise were refined and she was intellectually gifted. She was groomed to be the perfect wife of a great politician. And she would never have questioned her fate had Kira not stepped into her life.

From the moment she clapped eyes with Kira, Lacus had felt as if her life was whole. He was her missing piece, her other half, her soul mate. He made her laugh and cry and feel as never before. He opened her eyes to the great big world just outside her doorway and gave her a sense of life in the meaningless existence she had once led.

Most of all, he gave her _love_.

He knew, of course. She had warned him theirs could be nothing more than a plutonic relationship. That if it evolved into something more it would just end in heartbreak. But he didn't seem to care. They were content with what they had. There had been no happier days in their lives before or since. A love like theirs had had no beginning or end. It had no right or wrong. In those bright, seemingly endless summer days, she was not another man's wife, but his. _His _Lacus...

But their dream had come to an end. The deadline was closing, and tomorrow she would be forbidden to him in the eyes of God and man. He would never be able to touch her lovely pink curls, or gaze deeply into her large, cerulean blue eyes, or kiss her cupid-bow mouth. He would never be able to whisper her name into her ear or take her on moonlit walks in the park or tell her stories of faraway lands he had visited on one of his archeological travels...

_...Never again._

This would be their last time together. Their last touch, their last kiss, their last sunset...and she wanted to cherish everything with him.

_"What's this?" _Kira's eyes caught sight of a glinting object around her neck.

Lacus looked down and her lips curved into a soft smile. It was a necklace made of brilliant sapphires. _"Athrun gave it to me yesterday. He said it matched my eyes and so he bought it for me. He came for a quick visit and told me to wear it for our –" _She stopped before she added the 'w' word. She did not want to be reminded of the tomorrows without Kira.

A flash of pain tinged his violet eyes. How could he be so stupid as to have thought a measly, inexpensive hairclip could possibly be worthy of a princess like Lacus?

_"I want to give you diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, pearls..."_ He gently drew her into his embrace and she fit into him so perfectly, _"All that and more, Lacus, if I could."_

_"No, Kira."_ Her beautiful blue eyes filled with crystal tears as her ivory hands lifted to cup his face. Her lips trembled as she spoke. _"I do not need all that. Only...only love me."_

_Only love me._

And for the rest of their last evening together they did not say a word. They did not need to. The 'if only things were different...' hung in the air. All they did was hold on to each other tightly, wishing they never had to let go...

The sunset spelled the end of their relationship.

_But it did not end her love for him..._

XXX

"...and do you, Lacus Clyne, take this man, Athrun Zala, to be your lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in good times and in bad forsaking all other to love, honor, and cherish for as long as you both shall live, till death do you part?"

This was it. This was the moment which would seal her fate forever as the wife of Athrun Zala. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

_Kira...I will always..._

"I do."

_...always..._

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

_...love you._

"You may kiss the bride."

A lone tear slipped down her cheek as Athrun leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Lacus's lips.

No one noticed the violet-eyed brunette who stood not too far away from the cheering crowd. No one noticed the tears of pain he shed as he gazed, for one last time, at his beautiful pink-haired angel. No one noticed when he opened his lips and whispered a silent farewell.

_Goodbye, Lacus. Be happy. I shall never, ever forget you, my darling..._

And no one noticed when he turned and with his hands in his pockets he slowly walked away, leaving behind the memories of his stolen moments with his beloved angel.

XXX

**(The End)**

_I shall now rush to the internet café._


End file.
